1,000-peso banknote - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Commemorative Edition
On 17 November 2006, the new design of 1,000-peso banknotes was released for circulation with an issue date of 01 November 2005. These banknotes have the same design and identical general features and security features as those in the previous issue, dated 03 March 2005, but the issue date has been changed and so has the size from 70 × 140 to 65 × 130 mm.
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Commemorative Edition
Banco de la República pays tribute to this important figure, whose influence on national life has lasted long after his death, by issuing the one-thousand-peso banknote that has begun to circulate.
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, one of the most influential Colombian political leaders of the 20th century, worked actively as a parliamentarian and public official in an almost uninterrupted trajectory between 1924 and 1948. His vigorous and seductive oratory, which was deployed equally in the courts and in the Congress of the Republic, excited the Colombians of the thirties and forties and, in particular, the members of the working-class sectors of the big cities.
Starting with the famous banana plantation debate in 1929, which gave him national recognition, until his tragic death on 09 April 1948, his political life was characterized by his efforts to bring about a major transformation of the country geared towards reducing social imbalances and improving the condition of the working class, urban, and rural sectors.
His time at the Ministry of Education and the Mayor's Office of Bogotá was also marked by his obsession for improving the levels of education and health in which businessmen and workers, who constituted the core of what he called the "people's country," would predominate over the "political country," in order to seek a more egalitarian and just society. A staunch advocate of industrial development, he always held to the idea that the state should intervene to achieve social justice: this emphasis on a combination of state intervention and the search for equality and justice enabled him to define himself, in the political parlance of his time, as a socialist.
By 1948 he had become the main leader of the liberal party and an immensely powerful caudillo over the urban masses. That is why his assassination was felt by large sectors of the country as a tragic setback and unleashed a wave of violence the effects of which are still being felt throughout the country. If his life had already made him the most popular politician in Colombia, his death gave his figure mythical attributes and turned him into a symbol of the people's yearnings.
General characteristics
The colors used in the 1,000-peso banknote as well as its paper, are the most representative visible and tactile features that help to recognize a genuine banknote. The printing on the entire banknote must be absolutely sharp. The characteristic feel of the banknote is sturdy, firm, and resistant in spite of its use.
Security thread and watermark
Look at the security thread against the light and you will see a transparent vertical strip with the text "BR COLOMBIA," as well as the watermark which appears in the white sector of the banknote. On both the obverse and reverse of the banknote you will see the image of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in different shades of gray.
Perfect match
Place the banknote against the light and you will see how the image of the scale is completed with perfectly matched edges.
Hidden image
The banknote contains the letters "BRC" hidden and printed in high relief located on the right shoulder of the portrait. Check its existence by looking at the banknote at a slant at eye level.
Viewed under ultraviolet light
Obverse
- Inner borders in green with germinating seeds.
- Picture of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's car in green.
- Red, green, and blue fibers invisible to normal light.
- Blue security thread.
Reverse
- The word "COLOMBIA" in green.
